(KPL) The European Union Ambassador to Laos, Leo Faber and his delegation, on Feb 18 visited the construction site of the Xayaboury Hydropower Project in the northern province of Xayaboury.

Deputy Managing Director of Operations and Maintenance at Xayaboury Power Company Limited, Mr Anuparp Wonglakorn told the visiting ambassador that the construction of the navigation lock, fish passage systems and sediment flow outlets are being conducted in compliance with environmental and ecological standards to minimize possible impacts.

Explaining how fish could migrate upstream through fish ladders, Mr. Anuparp said that natural-like facilities had been developed to suit the circumstances of Mekong fish.

The project has been designed to have an installed generation capacity of 1,285 MW and an annual power production of 7,405 Gwh.

The Lao government is expected to earn aboutUS$3.8 billion in revenue over a concession period of 29 years.

Seventy five per cent of the planned construction has been carried out since construction of the project commenced in 2012. The project is expected to be fully completed by 2019.

Of the total power generated by the project, 1,225 MW will be sold to Thailand and 60 MW will be sold to Électricité du Laos for domestic consumption.